The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 24

ORTS £hc (Charlotte (Cbsc rver Saturday December 11 1982 Section Insider Comics Page 6B) For Scores Call ScorePhone (704) 379-6535 se Matters Sampson Vs Ewing: Noi College Basketball Kevin Quirk it around the hoop Then I heard that more than 300 media outlets had applied for the 160-170 working press credentials to the game And that most major newspapers across the country will be represented The demand was so great that the Raleigh News and Observer and Winston-Salem Journal prominent papers in the ACC heartland were denied access to cover the game Obviously we're dealing with much more than say a Kentucky-Indiana game in December Or even a Virginia-North Carolina confrontation in January Maybe even more than an NCAA championship game Hey let's face it those games only involve two teams As I've come to understand today's game involves two future legends There is no comparison Whenever the pregame buildup of any sports event shifts from Hype to Overhype you can be sure that a battle of individuals is the driving force So I'll be ready now I'll go to the game prepared to record a chapter of history I'll keep my eyes focused on the two centers at all times and not concern myself See SAMPSON Page 5B completely missed the historical significance involved I failed to look toward the futures of Sampson and Ewing and realize they will be the dominant big men in all of basketball for the next decade I forgot that this will be their first confrontation the one by which all others will be measured I was blind Thankfully Sports Illustrated helped me see the way It made Sampson-Ewing the cover story of its Nov 29 college basketball preview issue and to go with its long analysis of the matchup of centers not the matchup of teams an LANDOVER Md I had this Virginia-Georgetown game today figured all wrong I thought it was a nice early-season matchup pitting this season's prime college basketball championship contender against last season's runner-up with an intriguing sidelight of Ralph Sampson facing Pat Ewing I thought it might offer a clue about the rest of the season for both teams and give Sampson perhaps Ewing also an idea of the competition they will face three or four times a week next season in the NBA But I was wrong I was short-sighted I artist drew pictures of Sampson and Ewing going at it around the hoop Or at least how it will look when they do go at A Raiders Face Return To Oakland Associated Press SALINAS Calif The Los Angeles Raiders are heading toward another trial and perhaps back to 1 Oakland for the 1983 NFL season "The trial decision in Los Ange-: les said we could move but this injunction says we can't" said Al Lance Gray (72) leads the blocking for Anthony Springs (with ball) A Shrine Boivl Shoo-In i Davis tne team managing general partner after a Monterey County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the Raiders must return to Oakland under a preliminary injunction which he reinstated The Raiders 4-1 and tied for the American Conference lead moved their 1982 home games to the Los Angeles Coliseum but still use an Oakland practice field They have two regular-season home games remaining Dec 18 against the Los Angeles Rams and Dec 26 against Cleveland The move back to Oakland won't have to be made until after this season Judge Robert O'Far-rell specified He is presiding over the case in which Oakland seeks to take over the Raiders under the city's power of eminent domain "It would be a hardship for them to move back to Oakland this season" O'Farrell said "Also they probably would get a cool reception" If the Raiders should win the trial they would remain the Los Angeles Raiders in 1983 The eminent domain case which was moved from Oakland to Monterey was dismissed once But appeals took it to the California Supreme Court which ruled that the question should be decided in a trial Last May in a federal court trial in Los Angeles the Raiders prevailed over the NFL in an antitrust case and were granted the right to move to Los Angeles after 22 seasons in Oakland "This is just a normal thing with the courts Things go back and forth But we always seem to win the big ones" said Davis Moses Lasky the attorney representing the Raiders at the hearing said: "It's a complete surprise I'm stunned" Jim Heffernan an NFL spokesman said "We have not seen the court's decision and we will have no comment until we do" If SC Weren't So Good wmmmmmm SC assistant coach Bill Pate of Lake View -Shrine Bowl At A Glance noticed the same with his team "The thing that has impressed me most when you bring in so-called stars from all the various high schools" he said "is the way they come together and have gotten along You call it closeness togetherness friendly-type atmosphere whatever you want think first of all your teammates have to like each other" i As for NC's starting quarterback Nixon said Friday "I haven't decided yet It's going to be kind of tough" Actually the Tar Heel team's unity helped Nixon solve that problem too With three quarterbacks selected deciding who plays first andor most could be a problem especially when each as Nixon says "is a very good quarterback in his own right" But Statesville's Keith Lawrence and Wilmington New Hanover's James Bowker decided Monday to play in the defensive backfield instead "That was their decision" Nixon said "They came up with it on their own" That means that NC player of the year Mark Maye of Independence High will start The Tar Heel See NC Page 4B By KATE BOYLAN Observer StaH Writer North Carolina's Shrine Bowl team has more size and talent than South Carolina's South Carolina's 35 high school senior football players are quicker and less banged-up But factors such as those seldom have much to do with who wins the Shrine Bowl So there is no way to guess what to expect when the 46th annual Shrine Bowl game begins at 1:30 pm today at Memorial Stadium The game which features the Carolinas' top senior players benefits the Shriners' hospitals for crippled and burned children in Greenville SC and Cincinnati The trend is for South Carolina to win That has been the case seven of the past 10 years including last year's 7-6 decision But North Carolina has a few things going for it The first is team unity a tough commodity to develop in the week players have been practicing But NC coach Glenn Nixon of Clayton says this team is as close as any all-star squad he's seen SC team coach Doug Bennett of Swansea has what: 46th annual Shrine Bowl football game When: 1:30 pm kickoff Where: Memorial Stadium 300 Independence Blvd (corner of 7th and Independence) The teams: Top senior high school players from North Carolina vs top seniors from South Carolina Television: WSOC-TV (Charlotte's channel 9) anchors an eight-station network throughout the Carolinas That network includes WIS (Columbia's channel 10) and WBTW (Florence SC channel 13) Radio: No coverage Expected attendance: 25000 Parade: Begins 11 am at Stonewall and Trvon streets Route is north on Tryon to Independence Square right on Trade Street and Elizabeth Avenue then left on Kings Drive to the stadium Last year SC team won 7-6 Series standing: SC team leads 22-19-4 Catawba Coach Ousted lst-Round Barrage Earns Dokes Title Win Over Weaver Gardner-Webb Loses Moore To Citadel By DAVID SCOTT Observer Staff Writer Tom Moore whose Gardner-Webb team was ranked 17th by the NAIA this season is The Citadel's new football coach Moore 37 replaces Art Baker who was fired Nov 23 after the Bulldogs finished 5-6 It was Baker's first losing season since 1978 Moore Associated Press LAS VEGAS Michael "Dynamite" Dokes knocked down Mike Weaver and then stopped him with a barrage of head punches in the first round Friday night to win the World Boxing Association heavyweight championship After referee Joey Curtis stopped it Dokes jumped in the air and fell to the canvas Once back on his feet he jumped up and down in celebration with his handlers Shortly after a fight broke out between the handlers and other members of the fighters entourage before order was restored There was chaos in the ring as security men helped break up the scuffle as both fighters appeared to be in the middle of it The sellout crowd of 4500 at the Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion booed the rumble that followed Dokes's victory After the fight ring announcer Chuck Hull said he was asked not to announce Dokes as the winner because of fear of a riot Fans were screaming and booing and hollering that the fight was fixed "Give us a fight" screamed one fan "I paid to see a fight" The top ticket price was $50 far below the top ticket price for most championship fights It was a wild ending to a wild and short fight that ended almost before it got started At the opening bell Dokes who has 25 victories and one draw as a pro shot across the ring and landed two punches to the head and two to the body Then the two men got into a furious toe-to-toe exchange Suddenly Dokes landed a left-right-left to the head that dumped Weaver 24-10 on his back Weaver who won the title in a 15th-round knockout of John Tate on March 31 1980 at Knoxville Tenn struggled up and took an eight-count Signaled back to action by Curtis Dokes shot across the ring and landed a barrage of head punches that shook Weaver The champion did not punch back but got out of his corner and away The escape was a brief one as Dokes pinned Weaver on the ropes and fired shots to the body and head before Curtis jumped in and stopped it at 1:03 of the first round Iokes went into the ring a 5-2 favorite Moore an alumnus of The Citadel had a four-year Gardner-Webb record of 19-22 That record includes two victories forfeited by the NAIA because of ineligible players This season Gardner-Webb was 7-3 Moore went to Gardner-Webb in 1979 from Clemson where he had been an assistant since 1971 Previously he was an assistant at Wichita State Moore played football at The Citadel in the mid-1960s under Eddie Teague now The Citadel's athletic director Gardner-Webb president Dr Craven Williams said he would begin an immediate search for a successor to Moore "We'll hire somebody just as quickly as possible" said Williams Gardner-Webb's isn't the only coaching vacancy in the South Atlantic Conference Jobs apparently are also open at Catawba and Mars Hill At Catawba coach Steve Shaughnessy has been dismissed although the school has not made an annoucement "He didn't quit and he wasn't fired either" a Catawba official said Friday "But he's looking for another job" Shaughnessy had a three-year record of 8-23 including 2-9 this season He was unavailable for comment At Mars Hill an announcement is expected soon on who will replace Claude Gibson fired after the Lions' fourth game this season Mars Hill reportedly has narrowed its choices to Baker Citadel assistant Rick Gilstrap Lees-McRae coach Soupy Campbell Central Arkansas assistant Paul Sharp and Stephens County (Ga) High coach Charles Green Billy Simmons who coached the Lions after Gibson's departure also Js a candidate 11 Days To Rvgislvr For Observer Raves The countdown has reached 10 -onlv 10 days left to register for the sixth Charlotte Observer Marathon The races which annually attract several thousand runners beyin at 10 am Jan 8 But en-trios are due bv 5 pm Dec 20 Entry fee is $6 for the marathon and 10000-meter races and $4 for the 1-mile fun run Entry forms are available at the lobby of the Knight Publishing Co Building 600 Trvon St or at American Athletics In SouthPark For Information call 379-6897- AP Photo Blue Devilish Laughter: New Duke football coach Steve Sloan has a good laugh during a news conference Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sloan who had coached at Mississippi replaces Red Wilson See story Page 3B.